Dugout Discussion

Martinelli benched as Nketiah comes in for Arsenal

Gabriel Martinelli‘s (£4.5m) recent form was not enough for him to hold onto a place in the Arsenal starting line-up for Gameweek 26.

The centre-forward has averaged 4.75 points per game over his last four starts, better than any of his colleagues, but Mikel Arteta has seen fit to name the youngster on the bench.

Instead, the Arsenal manager has opted to hand Eddie Nketiah (£4.3m) a first start for the club since returning from a loan at Leeds United.

The young Englishman spearheads the Gunners’ attack, supported by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (£10.8m) and Nicolas Pépé (£9.1m) in the wide areas and Mesut Ozil (£7.2m) in the number 10 role.

Meanwhile, there are several changes for Newcastle, as Steve Bruce names new signings Danny Rose (£5.3m) and Valentino Lazaro (£5.5m) at left and right-back respectively, the latter, an FPL midfielder, deployed in reverse-out-of-position.

The Fantasy interest in Newcastle’s defence remains largely on the low side but those discussed as budget differentials recently in Jamaal Lascelles (£4.2m) and Federico Fernández (£4.4m) are both in the starting line-up.

Arsenal XI: Leno; Saka, D Luiz, Mustafi, Bellerin; Ceballos, Xhaka; Aubameyang, Ozil, Pépé; Nketiah.

Newcastle United XI: Dubravka; Rose, Clark, Lascelles, Fernandez, Lazaro; Almirón, Bentaleb, S Longstaff, Saint-Maximin; Joelinton.

804 Comments Post a Comment
  1. FPL Pillars
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Points check / players to play

    60 / KDB

    1. St Pauli Walnuts
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Nice. 44 and KDB left. Small red arrow at the moment, could get a fair bit bigger.

    2. CRO KLOPP
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      69(-4) KDB left

      1. Colonel Shoe 肝池
        • 12 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Jesus that's an immense scores this week

        1. CRO KLOPP
          • 6 Years
          4 years, 1 month ago

          And I benched Lund

      2. The FPL Units
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 14 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        41 / KdB and Mahrez left.

    3. Green Arrow
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      65 / KdB

    4. Pat Bonner
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      42 with kdb and aguero (c)

    5. The Ejiptian King
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      57, Aguero(C) and KdB.

    6. Chucky
      • 10 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      58 and KDB

    7. yalala
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      59 with Aguero left

    8. Baps hunter
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      50 KdB + Martial

    9. Magic Zico
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Bad GW here 34 Martial KDB

    10. FDMS All Starz
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      47/ Kun (c)/Martial/Kdb

    11. Tshelby
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      68 / kdb

    12. Deulofail
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      63 / That's it

      1. Deulofail
        • 8 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        66* 😮

    13. teneighty
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      48 / KDB

      Lund and Soy laughing first and second on my bench.

    14. FDMS All Starz
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      What’s the bps for the arsenal match?

    15. The 12th Man
      • 10 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      62 / KDB

      1. SweepaKeepa
        • 7 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Same here

    16. Egg noodle
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      56/Martial Mahrez SonBP

    17. Sun Jihai
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Everyone seems to have 60+ by the looks of the average on here 🙁

  2. Brosstan
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Fernandez outscores Lascelles again!

    1. diesel001
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Yeah, but Lascelles is cheaper.

    2. jtreble
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Avoid both imho.

  3. Il Papera
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Would you BB?

    Pope BOU, McCarthy AVL
    VanDijk WHM, Trent WHM, Boly NOR, O’Connell BRI, Lascelles cry
    Salah WHM, DeBruyne lei, Grealish sot, Richarlison ars, Traore NOR
    Ings AVL, Jimenez NOR, Vardy MCI

    Used WC and without hits I don’t think I’ll be able to get more than 8 DGW doubles so I’m likely to have a poor bench anyway, more so if I take value away from bench for the likes of Son.

    1. Pat Bonner
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Not a bad set of fixtures so worth a go. I’m probably going to wait and gamble on some cheaper defenders with a double

      1. Il Papera
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 7 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Yeah - thinking is if I bench boost now I can get Son in GW32 onwards for Traore (or Aguero for Jimenez). 8 FTs between now and horror memories of triple Brighton defence last year

  4. Athletic Dildao
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Pepe essential?

    1. Maximus Bonimus Pointimus
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Might be mildly interested actually come GW29

      1. Athletic Dildao
        • 7 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        I had a mad few days considering him four or five gameweeks ago. Luckily showed restraint. But now??

        1. Egg noodle
          • 14 Years
          4 years, 1 month ago

          Still no

  5. Pat Bonner
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 12 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Had a laugh to myself earlier when I saw guy top of work mini league captained lacazette

    1. Random Name
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Yet has equal or more points than favoured captains mane and salah.

      Will enjoy watching Aguero (C) flop and ill have a little laugh to myself

  6. Top Lad Dakes.
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Pepe or Son in for Martial?

    1. Pat Bonner
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Son shirley

      1. Top Lad Dakes.
        • 7 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Funded by Vardy to Jimenez, for free. Look ok?

        1. Pat Bonner
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 12 Years
          4 years, 1 month ago

          Looks good to me

    2. Baps hunter
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      😉

  7. Niho992
    • 5 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Need Kun 4 or 5 goals to save this GW.

    1. Colonel Shoe 肝池
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Same

      1. Niho992
        • 5 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        he will blank probably at this stage...

    2. Pat Bonner
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Not being too greedy! Would take just 2 goals from him

    3. Sun Jihai
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      If he even plays

  8. Pat Bonner
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 12 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Any thoughts on best move here?
    2ft and 0.4 in the bank

    Dubravka McCarthy
    Lacelles taa Gomez Stephens Egan
    Grealish salah kdb Traore mooy
    Aguero Jimenez Ings

    Thinking downgrading aguero to get son or mane (mane would mean a -4 and getting rid of Gomez)

  9. Deulofail
    • 8 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Happy to see Laca score, but frustrating as always to watch him swinging his arms about when things don't go his own way, while the rest of the team are switched on, working to regain possession or progress the attack.

    It's not a bad sign to be emotionally involved with the game, but as a professional, you should know how to move on or even turn that into a positive, an advantage, to increase the margins between you and your opponent and support the team as a whole. He can't deal with his own disappointment and is too often concerned only with his personal desire to have the ball at his feet or score goals.

    Looks like the rest of the team are pleased for him too. Hopefully they can coax the entitled attitude out of him and reintegrate as a team player. That said.... I'm not really that annoyed. This is way longer than I intended to write. And I'm not gonna delete it now...

    In other news, I got a very respectable 5.5 PPM out of Pepe since I bought him 😎 Unbelievable.

  10. FOO FIGHTER
    • 4 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Just saw the following stat.

    Since Auba joined Arsenal, only Salah has scored more EPL goals (49) compared to Auba (47).

    WTF are Arsenal wasting his time as a winger for lol.

    1. Pat Bonner
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Not a bad record from the wing to be fair?

    2. Deulofail
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      I think the best I've seen him play is on the right tbh. Martinelli is also useful though the middle. It's a nice problem to have with Lacazette and Saka in the fray as well.

      Not to mention Nelson and Nketiah

    3. FDMS All Starz
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Think Martinelli - Auba - Pépé is the best front 3 they should go with

  11. james 101
    • 12 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Keep:

    A. Grealish
    B. Traore

    Traore has better fixtures, but...

    1. Pat Bonner
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Good argument to keep both

      1. james 101
        • 12 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Would like Son though

  12. FDMS All Starz
    • 8 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    What’s the bonus points for the arsenal match?

    1. Pat Bonner
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Pepe Aubameyang laca in that order

  13. MiLK2018
    • 6 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Who is the best replacement for Lord? thx

    A) Lascelles
    B) Boly
    C) Saïss
    D) Other suggestion

    1. SuperDan
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Im going B

  14. Iceball
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Ryan Button
    TAA Stephens Holgate Söy Lund
    Salah(C) KDB(V) Son Martial Cantwell
    Firmino Jimenez Ings
    2ft. 0.2m itb.
    Feels like I havent made transfer since Christmas, but where to start?
    Holgate out first thinking, any better idea, Crystal Palace or Wolves defender?

  15. jtreble
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    How did Nketiah play today? Curious.